Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) celebrated the grand opening of its new culinary center in April. Located in the company’s James R. Randall Research Center in Decatur, Ill., the facility brings together the skills and experience of ADM’s research chefs, food application experts and sensory specialists. The center is designed to help customers get to market faster and more effectively, says ADM.

The Dairy Council of California will be sponsoring a symposium during the upcoming Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) 64th Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Las Vegas. Slated for July 15, the symposium is titled, “The Revised Food Guide Pyramid: What Will it Mean for the Food Industry?” It will feature presenters from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, California Polytechnic State University and more.

Corn Products International Inc., Westchester, Ill., and Golden, Colo.-based GTC Nutrition LLC announced the formation of a strategic alliance under which the companies will focus on specialty ingredients for the food, nutraceutical and animal feed industries. Under the alliance, Corn Products International will acquire a majority ownership stake in GTC Nutrition and construct a production channel to produce GTC’s short-chain fructooligosaccharides products in Ontario, Canada.

Ecom Agroindustrial Corp., Parsippany, N.J., announced an expansion of its cocoa processing operations with the opening of a new plant, JB Cocoa. The plant is the sole producer of Ecom’s Zamacom cocoa products and is situated in the industrial free-trade zone of the PTP Port of Malaysia.

Wild Flavors Inc., Erlanger, Ky., marked its 10-year anniversary in April. Founded in 1994 following the acquisition of F&D International by the European Wild Group, the company remains focused on providing all-natural ingredients. “Going forward, we remain committed to providing the excellence and innovation to the North American food and beverage industry that have made us successful throughout the world,” says Dr. Hans-Peter Wild, company chairman. DSM Nutritional Products Inc., Parsippany, N.J., introduced a new logo to communicate the health benefits of LC-Omega-3 fortification to consumers. The logo features the phrase “Fats of Life,” which will be placed on food and beverage packaging to clearly identify products containing the LC-Omega-3 ingredient.

The National Food Laboratory (NFL), Dublin, Calif., announced an expansion that boasts a high-security level-two biosafety lab, a new microbiology lab to analyze samples resulting from the validation of aseptic equipment, new equipment and additional staff. “We’re helping to fill the gap as companies struggle with ever-tighter deadlines and regulatory complexity amid industry consolidation, downsizing and institutional memory loss,” says Kevin Buck, NFL president.

A new thermoacoustic chiller that substitutes sound waves for environment-damaging chemical refrigerants recently was unveiled at a Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. scoop shop in New York City. Developed under a partnership between the South Burlington, Vt.-based company and Pennsylvania State University, the technology uses helium gas and high-decibel sound waves instead of chemical refrigerants. According to Penn State researchers, the chiller “takes advantage of helium's inertness and high thermal conductivity, as well as the fact that a sound wave is a rapid succession of compressions and expansions of the gas that carries it.”

Dairy Management Inc., Rosemont, Ill., (DMI) recently unveiled a Web resource, www.doitwithdairy.com/lowtransfat, to help food manufacturers locate dairy ingredient solutions for reducing trans fatty acid levels in food products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) s requiring food manufacturers to list trans fat content on the Nutrition Facts panels of conventional foods and some dietary supplements by June 1, 2006.

For the sixth year in a row, Belcamp, Md.-based TIC Gums Inc. has been named the preferred supplier of hydrocolloids to the U.S. food industry in a Stagnito Communications Inc. survey of ingredient purchasers. The publisher of Dairy Field magazine and 14 other food, beverage and packaging industry magazines surveyed more than 5,000 individuals with ingredient purchasing influence, and TIC Gums achieved the highest score overall in the gums category.

The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) presented its 2004 Award of Merit to Bernard S. Horton during the ADPI/American Butter Institute Annual Conference held in Chicago this past April. Horton was a member of company teams that developed and built the world’s first whey protein concentrate (WPC) plant, the first tandem whey ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis plant, the first continuous WPC plant and several of the earliest milk UF plants. His company, Cambridge, Mass.-based Horton International, focuses on advanced separation and conversion processes for whey and milk, markets for new dairy products and dairy product price forecasting.

Silliker Inc., Homewood, Ill., announced the formation of a strategic partnership with Princeton, N.J.-based EduNeering to help the food industry control food-safety risks through employee job performance and proficiency improvements. The customized, integrated learning solutions will combine Silliker’s food industry experience with EduNeering’s expertise in the delivery of online knowledge systems.

The American Palm Oil Council launched a revised Web site, www.americanpalmoil.com, to help visitors understand the differences between the naturally trans fat-free palm oil and other vegetable oils. In addition to technical information related to palm oil, the site features news and trade information, a glossary and more.

West Chicago, Ill.-based Continental Custom Ingredients announced plans to move its headquarters to Sycamore, Ill. The company has begun construction of a 128,000-square-foot facility in the Sycamore Prairie Business Park. The facility also will house a laboratory and production facility.